


Indispensable

by nausicaa_of_phaeacia



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Episode: s03e02 The Sign of Three, F/M, Fluff, Post-The Sign of Three, Short, The Sign of Three Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-18
Updated: 2014-01-18
Packaged: 2018-01-09 05:01:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1141734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nausicaa_of_phaeacia/pseuds/nausicaa_of_phaeacia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock is about to leave.</p>
<p>A stupid little something I wrote in ten minutes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Indispensable

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, I just wrote this down on a whim. Hope you still like it!   
> I own only what came out of my own head ;)

He walks away, his steps as sweeping as ever, whirling his coat around himself to put it on. Once again - and that seems to be a trope in his life - Sherlock Holmes is leaving the venue his old, unattainable, slightly tragic, and eternally lonely self. He bitterly smiles about it, and it's not without a slight aftertaste of self-disgust. He buttons his coat up to his lips, then buries his hands inside his pockets. It isn't _that_ cold, but even a cocoon made from tweed can offer just a little bit of comfort.  
He hears her stilettos before she calls him. Click, click, click.  
"Sherlock," she gasps, apparently a little breathless from hurrying in heels.   
He almost smiles, but decides to turn around instead.  
"Molly," he states matter-of-factly.  
It takes her just a few seconds too long to reach him, and he stifles the hint of indignation her quasi-tiptoeing has invoked in him.

"Don't leave," she says, not in despair, her voice not pleading, and the simplicity of her demand surprises him.   
But things are never simple with Sherlock Holmes, so he stalls her a little.  
"Whyever not? I believe I have discharged my duty as John's best man, I held the speech, I provided music, I delivered my best wishes to the happy couple, so I assumed I was allowed to go. Besides, the dancing has started."  
She smirks. "My point exactly."  
He looks at her in confusion.   
"I could see how much you wanted to dance. And not to be impolite, but Tom, well, he keeps bruising everyone's toes. Not to mention that dancing with your ex-fiancé isn't the most heavenly of delights." She blushes at her own eloquence, and he can't help wanting to smile, but suppresses it.  
"Ex-fiancé?"  
"Yes. That. Mrs. Hudson was right."  
" _Mrs. Hudson_ was right?"  
"She said he was a cheap ersatz Sherlock." He almost gasps. "Which is true. Even though he loved me."  
She raises her hand, and the ring is gone. How come he didn't notice that straight away? 

For the second time in his life, he doesn't know what to say.  
"Come on. Dance with me. The _real_ Sherlock is indispensable." She tugs at his arm, and while he's still unable to reply, he's following her. Click, click. The sound is unbearable. As is the stupid yellow bow in her hair. But just then, she tugs at it and clips it onto the breast pocket of his coat. "There. Now you look more like an official dance partner."  
He finds himself wondering if she's had one champagne too much, that's how much her untypical actions surprise him, but then again, Molly has never been one to stick to his expectations, and he shamefully discards the thought. They stop outside the door, and she unbuttons his coat, because he looks like he's stepped right out of a snowstorm.   
"Molly-"  
"There. You can't dance with your coat on." She smiles at him, and suddenly, he feels something inside him explode, explode and break free. It makes him smile as genuinely as he had before, on the dancefloor with the newlyweds. Having taken off his coat, she's folding it in half when it suddenly hits her he's beaming at her. Flustered, she looks up at him.   
"What...?"

He touches her shoulder.  
"Indispensable?"  
She nods, embarrassed, biting her lip as she almost doesn't dare to meet his eyes. He's still smiling, why is he smiling, damnit. She's about to lower her eyes when suddenly, his soft lips are on hers, his arms pulling her into the gentlest and yet most passionate kiss she has ever been pulled into. She's smiling against him, and when she kisses him back, it feels like redemption and utmost bliss at the same time.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :)  
> Please tell me what you think!


End file.
